David Waterstradt is a trusts and estates attorney who focuses his practice in estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, elder law and Medicaid planning. Prior to attending law school, he worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Representative Experience

  • Estate and Trust Planning. Represents individuals in preparing their estate plans, including business owners, executives, physicians, those with inherited wealth and successful savers and investors. This includes:
    • Creating wills and trusts for the tax efficient transfer of wealth, including marital trusts, credit shelter trusts, generation skipping trusts, irrevocable insurance trusts, qualified domestic trusts for noncitizen spouses, qualified personal residence trusts and cottage trusts
    • Establishing family partnerships and limited liability companies to provide for the management of assets, protection of family assets from creditors and tax efficient transfer of wealth to the next generation
    • Developing plans to transfer closely-held family businesses, sometimes involving grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), sales to grantor trusts and other techniques
    • Preparing prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
    • Advising clients on the transfer of IRAs and other retirement plans in a tax efficient and creditor protected manner
  • Elder Law and Disability Planning. Represents individuals and their agents in planning to meet the expenses of long term care. This includes:
    • Establishing Sole Benefit Trusts for the protection of assets for a spouse who remains at home when the other spouse needs nursing home care
    • Establishing Testamentary Trusts to protect assets for a surviving spouse
    • Advising on gifting and asset conversion planning by individuals seeking to qualify for Medicaid or Veteran’s benefits
    • Preparing private reverse mortgages for children with the means to fund long term care for their parents with eventual payback
    • Establishing special needs trusts to protect inheritances, lawsuit settlements, awards and other assets received by disabled individuals
    • Preparing powers of attorney to clearly authorize gifting and Medicaid planning
  • Probate Estate and Trust Administration. Represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate administration. This includes:
    • Commencing probate court proceedings and counseling individuals and banks appointed as personal representatives in estate administration
    • Assisting individuals seeking appointment as a guardian or conservator for an elderly or disabled person and counseling guardians and conservators in the fulfillment of their duties
    • Representing trustees in the administration of trusts
    • Representing individuals and fiduciaries involved in probate litigation, including claims by and against estates, will contests, trust disputes, joint accounts and real estate partitions

Bar Associations

  • Muskegon County Bar Association
    President (2010-11), Board of Directors
  • State Bar of Michigan
  • American Bar Association

Teaching and Lecturing

  • Lecturer:  Elder Law Course for the National Business Institute

Publications

Professional Affiliations

  • National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
  • Lake Michigan Estate Planning Council
    President (2011-Present), Board Member
  • Department of Veteran Affairs
    Accredited by the Department regarding claims for veterans benefits

Community Affiliations

  • Muskegon ARC
    President (2011-Present), Board Member 
  • North Muskegon High School
    Cross Country Coach

News

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